October 2014 News & Tips

Windows 7: October 31
Cut-Off Date

As of October 31, 2014, Microsoft will no longer supply PC partners and system builders with copies of Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium and/or Ultimate to preinstall on new PCs.

Both consumer and business users may have concerns over the lifecycle cutoff date posted at Microsoft. Business users in particular have not embraced Windows 8 or iterations thereof for numerous reasons – all well publicized.

According to ZDNet’s overview, this means that OEM’s may continue to sell existing stocks of Windows 7, but may not replenish their supply. The deadline, however, does not apply to PCs preinstalled with Windows 7 Professional.

Microsoft will give a one-year warning before it demands that OEMs stop selling PCs with Windows 7 Professional. Under this rule, Microsoft will allow computer makers such as Lenovo, HP and Dell to continue selling PCs with Windows 7 Professional until at least February 2015. You can read more at ZDNet or at Microsoft.

iPhone 6 Plus vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 3?

So what’s it going to be? An iPhone 6 Plus or the Samsung Galaxy Note 3? For diehard Apple lovers, there’s probably no choice to be made.

But wait! Is the Galaxy a worthy competitor? Ah, perhaps.CNET’s Tim Stevens took the plunge. We won’t spoil it. It’s a quick day-to-day comparison, and you can find it here. If you simply want to compare specs, here’s a side-by-side.

ShellShock: Millions of Computers at Risk

You’ve heard about HeartBleed. Now there’s ShellShock. And it’s a biggie! Shellshock is the name given to a pair of vulnerabilities in Bash, a shell program distributed on Linux, UNIX, OS X systems, and some Windows installations.

As the default shell for millions of systems the vulnerability means that an attacker could run commands on any machine using it with the potential to wreak havoc. According to Mashable, Shellshock has the potential to affect anyone visiting a website hosted on a vulnerable server. If the server has been compromised via Shellshock, it could deliver other malware. And unlike HeartBleed, ShellShock is easy to hack and code.

A Bendable Phablet
For Your Arm?

Really? Yep, the “Portal” by Arubixs is being crowdfunded as a Smartphone you can wear. Part of you says wow, something I can actually use. It has a bendable screen! It’s waterproof. Shatterproof. Flexible.

So what’s not to love? Well, er, we guess it’s that it sort looks of like a medical device you wear on your arm, or some sort of weird digital cast that coaxes your broken wrist to the perfection it once was. At six inches, it’s a bit weighty, perhaps, and if you are a GQ man, can you really wear all that coolness with one sleeve unbuttoned and dangling to accommodate your “Portal”?
But, seriously, maybe it’s an idea worth having. The specs are nothing to sneeze at, and the overall concept (albeit, one a bit more compact, perhaps) is something we’ve been hoping for. Check it out for yourself. The Arubixs website is here and the promotional video here.

NCDevCon. It’s A Wrap.

Our developers are back from the conference and looking forward to next year! The folks at DevCon have posted many of the slide and video presentations. So if you missed an important session check out the links at NCDevCon.